“I, go now. Thank you for the meat.”
“Awoo.”
And then Sheto stood up…
“Move!”
Before he could shout, the wolf jumped away, and Sheto’s body rolled to the ground. Just then, a silver light burned the spot where he had been standing.
“A Hero!? Salia!”
‘Sorry! I cannot ‘see’ from here!’
While he swiftly nocked an arrow, there was nothing that he could do. There were trees all around him, and there wasn’t a clear view. However, Sheto knew that it wasn’t hiding behind obstacles and sniping at him either.
“Another one who can disappear!”
‘It’s probably complete invisibility. Can you see the footprints?’
A Hero with the ability to become invisible. Or one that relied on a spell from a sorcerer. He had experienced such ambushes before. And there were others who had camouflage so they blended into the environment.
“Nothing like that, around.”
Just as he said, there was a flash of light deep in the forest.
“Tsk!”
He dodged it at a hair’s breadth. His face grew hot, and he could smell something burning. The magic attack could not be dodged once you saw it.
‘Hide behind the tree!’
“No! It will likely change positions!”
‘Specialized for range attacks then… Damn it.’
He crouched low and ran between the trees. There was no choice but to continue moving and wait for the enemy to make a mistake.
“Where. Where is it!”
‘If it attacks again, I should be able to find its location! The enemy has likely used up its protection with the invisibility and magic attacks!’
“Okay! One more time!”
Sheto put away the bow, used his arms to protect his face, and ran out.
‘Too reckless! Even with multiple protections, it will destroy your arms! And if you get hit from the side…’
“Just find the enemy!”
The sniper seemed to be surprised by the sudden charge, and a light flashed up ahead. The red light clashed with the magic energy, and the incredible repulsion caused the kobold’s body to be thrown up into the air.
“Ahhhh!”
‘Sheto!’
He swiftly got up, used his burnt arms to cover his face, and used all of his strength to focus on his hearing.
If this enemy likes to hit from a distance, then it would not want its location to be found. And so it would avoid hitting from the front twice in a row. Right or left, it would likely move before shooting again.
If he could only hear the foot falls. A brushing of clothes against tree branches.
Just as everything became quiet, and Sheto sighed.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Woooah!?”
A horrible cry echoed from the bushes to the left, and something rolled out. The sniper had been bitten by a mass of white. It threw away its long staff and screamed.
“Gyaaa! Ahhhh! Aaaaahhh!”
“Grrrrr!”
The bones were crushed, and the flesh around the shoulder became exposed. Then the figure shuddered, and as blood flowed, they stopped moving.
“Y-you…”
“Grrrr…”
As if still excited, the star wolf glared angrily at the fallen Hero. The Hero was wearing light traveling clothes, and had a cape, which made their body invisible underneath.
‘A divine vessel of invisibility. And a ‘Sunpiercer Strike’ staff as well.’
“…You…helped me.”
“Grrr.”
The Hero, whose name Sheto did not know, disappeared into particles of light. The wolf looked a little shocked by this, but then it sniffed Sheto’s arm as if worried.
“Rrrr…”
“I’m fine. Will heal quickly.”
He was already able to move his burnt arm again. He exhaled through the pain, and then removed the leg meat that was tied to his belt.
“Rrrph.”
“It fine. This, present.”
After hesitating for a moment, the wolf turned, as if losing interest, and walked away.
‘I think it’s saying that it helped you on its own. So it doesn’t need anything.’
“Aye.”
He smiled at the oddly human-like gesture. Perhaps the wolf had been owned by someone before. As Sheto thought of such sentimental things, the goddess spoke while chuckling.
‘Now then, we might as well make use of what the kind Hero has left for us.’
“Huh? We can use the divine vessel?”
‘No, that cape is just an ordinary piece of cloth now. However, it can still replace a shirt. Besides, there is water and food as well.’
Indeed, if you cut off the parts covered in blood, it could be used for clothing. And so he used a knife to cut a hole in the center, and wore it over his head like a coat.
As for the sack that was on the ground, nearby, Salia was right. There was some food and water inside. Still, he made sure that the bread and dried meat were not poisoned.
“Now, things slightly better.”
‘At this rate, you might be able to survive by stealing from the Heroes.’
“Have mercy. Soon, I’ll be burnt all over.”
They joked, and Sheto mulled over the battle he had just fought.
If it was mere invisibility, he could have dealt with it. However, when combined with ranged attacks, there was little that he could do.
The situation was gradually becoming more disadvantageous for him. The loss of weapons, food… On the other hand, the enemy had more and more information on him now.
If the star wolf had not helped…
“Salia…
‘What is it?’
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but then he swallowed them and shook his head cheerfully.
“I hungry. Finally time to eat.”
So that he did not break his own promise.
As the shadows of the evening began to fall over the forest road.
The star wolf sat by its usual bush, but was feeling a sense of restlessness.
The reason for this was the hunter from earlier. No, not exactly.
It stood up and ran back to the place.
The smell of the human it had killed. Remnants of the torn cape. And the staff were still there.
He sniffed the staff, then the ground, and the cloth as well.
And then as if noticing something, the wolf sniffed the cloth carefully. Again and again.
“…Awwwoooooooo!”
Before long, it was howling loudly. Unable to hold back the surge of emotion. It unleashed it into the forest night.
Eventually, the star wolf turned its back to the road, and walked deep into the forest.
On that day, the star wolf that protected the road, disappeared forever.
Thank you for the chapters